Galápagos Penguin

Galápagos Penguin

Birds

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

COMMON NAME:

Galápagos penguin

KINGDOM:

Animalia

PHYLUM:

Chordata

CLASS:

Aves

ORDER:

Sphenisciformes

FAMILY:

Spheniscidae

GENUS SPECIES:

Spheniscus mendiculus

FAST FACTS

DESCRIPTION:

The Galápagos penguin is one of the smaller temperate penguins. Like other temperate penguins, they have bare patches of skin around their eyes and at the base of the bill. They also lack feathers on their legs.

SIZE:

Up to 53 cm (21 in.)

WEIGHT:

Up to 2.5 kg (5-6 lb.)

DIET:

Small fishes

INCUBATION:

38-42 days

SEXUAL MATURITY:

3-8 years

LIFE SPAN:

15-20 years

RANGE:

Galápagos penguins are found on the Galápagos Islands and off the coast of Ecuador on the equator.

HABITAT:

Cracks or caves in lava and beaches near sea level

POPULATION:

GLOBAL

1,200 individuals

STATUS:

IUCN

Endangered

CITES

Not listed

USFWS

Endangered

FUN FACTS

1.

The Galápagos penguin goes through two molts per year, each lasting about 13 days.

2.

Galápagos penguins are the only penguin species to live on the equator.

ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION

Up to 77% of the Galápagos penguin population was wiped out by the 1982-1983 El Niño Southern Oscillation event, leaving only 463 total birds. A slow recovery began in 1985. However, a further decline of 66% of the population occurred during the 1997-1998 ENSO. The population appears to be once again in a recovery phase.

All 18 penguin species are legally protected from hunting and egg collecting. The Antarctic Treaty of 1959 makes it illegal to harm, or in any way interfere with, a penguin or its eggs. Every penguin specimen collected with a permit must be approved by and reported to the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR). Penguins are vulnerable to habitat destruction, overfishing of primary food sources, ecological disasters such as oil spills, pollution such as trash in the ocean, and human encroachment into nesting areas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BirdLife International (2006) Species factsheet: Spheniscus mendiculus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org